board8fandomcom-20200216-history
Scarletspeed7 Ranks The 100 Greatest Batman Villains
"What splendid irony that man's testaments to his own ingenuity become the agents of his demise." ~ Ra's al Ghul The storied annals of Batman's history. What lurks in those dark, dusty tomes, filled with decades of the gothic, the noir, the grim and gritty? The very essence of the Batman concept is a battle to not just defeat or prevent evil, but to understand it, and for seventy years, the Dark Knight has been not only a crusader against villainy, but medium in and of himself, a forum to explore the amoral and immoral. Batman does battle with great characters, some allegories for more profound forms of social ills, some simply representations of the everyday criminal mindset, some psychotic, some maniacal. Whether it's a battle of wits or a match of fighting prowess, Batman is entangled in a world where the concept of evil is meant to play a starring role. This thread will attempt to rank the one hundred enemies of the Bat that are truly the greatest of all. One a day. Creeping solely up the list from minor nuisance to arch nemesis, I want to try and introduce or reintroduce you to some of the greatest examples of villainy to ever be penciled and inked and sent to press. I'll try to include at least one story that showcases each character's unique brand of immorality as well as attempt to describe what exactly about them leaves an impact on me. The List #100 - Lynx First Appearance: Robin #1 (Jan. 1991) "Next time, bird boy..." ~Lynx Lynx began her comics career as a talent member of an Asian gang in Gotham, but her role soon became important in the long-brewing story of the King Snake, a villain who put Lynx and her gang of Ghost Dragons in his employ. Lynx starts out as a low-level lieutenant in the gang, but over time she climbs to the right-hand of King Snake; her battles with Tim Drake and Batman also increased in intensity and ferocity during her ascent. Lynx was an interesting villain in that she had more animosity for Robin than Batman himself. In fact, she even helped Batman during No Man's Land, maintaining order with her Ghost Dragons and helping to bring a child killer to justice. Lynx ended up being a sadly misused villain; during the War Crimes story arc, she was accidentally killed. When Infinite Crisis happened, Superboy-Prime's wall-punches erased this event and restored her to life, but sadly she was once again killed by Batgirl (Cassandra Cain, during her weird crazy Deathstroke acolyte phase). As a decent villain and one of the few Asian women characters in comics, Lynx could've been useful in helping to expand the diversity of DC, but alas, it was not meant to be. Greatest Lynx Story Ever Told: Robin #2 - The issue where a lot of Lynx's origin takes place. King Snake puts Lynx in charge of one unit of the Ghost Dragons after her boyfriend is killed, pinning the blame on Robin in the process. #99 - Zeiss First Appearance: Batman #582 (Oct. 2000) "Stop? Not while there are other opponents still standing." ~Zeiss Zeiss was created by one of the great writers of Gotham lit., Ed Brubaker, who is better known for writing what is considered the greatest run on Captain America of all time. Philo Zeiss was the son of a Mafia gardener, but after his father died, a mob boss took him in. To repay the debt he owed the boss, Zeiss is given an experimental surgery that replaces his eyes with cybernetic goggles which give him a level of sight that alters his perception of time and heightens his reflexes. Zeiss has since worked as a mob enforcer for various criminals and villains in Gotham. What I love about Zeiss is that he's one of the few villains to actually fight Batman to a standstill. It's not a boastful exaggeration either; Zeiss' goggles give him just enough of an edge when it comes to combat. Zeiss' behavior is always very cold, very detached - he's not passionate about a hatred towards Batman, nor is he necessarily apathetic to the plight of innocent Gothamites, but rather, he simply does his job. He's the sort of threat you like to see thrown into a story because he doesn't steal the spotlight from his boss (usually another great supervillain), yet he still is a welcome sight thanks to the opportunity to watch a really good hand-to-hand fight go down. Greatest Zeiss Story Ever Told: Batman #597 - After Batman's initial stalemate with Zeiss, his confidence is shaken. However, Batman turns the tables in a rematch using typical Batman resourcefulness. A great story that reminds people of why the Bat-Family is valuable to Batman, and how sometimes there are villains that can't be stopped without a little ingenuity. #98 - Lady Vic First Appearance: Nightwing #4 (Jan. 1997) "Bad shot. I was aiming for the pupil and hit the cornea." ~Lady Vic Lady Vic began her comics career as a Nightwing villain, but she's since become a great all-purpose Gotham-based mercenary. Her backstory is relatively simple; a British aristocrat, her family comes from a long line of soldiers for hire, and she's no exception. Despite such a basic history, she's an intriguing character. Her attitude is always very blaise and carefree; she doesn't come at anyone with particular vengeance and would in fact always prefer to be relaxing somewhere nice with a glass of wine and a warm bed rather than fighting. Even so, her fighting skills are extremely impressive and she has an outfit that really helps... accentuate... her technique. Her weapon skills vary from marksmanship to hand-to-hand, and she's quick to do what it takes to get the job done... even jumping out of a plane without a parachute once while chasing Black Canary. Several of her cases lead her into battle with a wide array of Batman-based characters. She tangled with Oracle's Birds of Prey several times, including once in Gorilla City as she was trying to procure a gorilla heart for Blockbuster; she's fought Nightwing while in the employ of both Blockbuster and his rival Torque; she's taken on Batman repeatedly, usually as a hired hand for a mob lieutenant but also as an assistant to Black Mask once. She's even fought both against and alongside the Secret Six, depending on the situation. Despite the constant change of allegiances, she always is quick with a sarcastic quip or a barbed insult at whoever gets in her way... or even those paying her. All in all, like Zeiss, she's the sort of great assisting villain you want to see give Batman and co. a decent challenge. Greatest Lady Vic Story Ever Told: Secret Six #25-28: "The Reptilian Brain" - Lady Vic joins a temporary Secret Six led by Jeannette and Bane alongside Dwarfstar, Giganta and King Shark in order to invade the land of Skartaris. Not a Batman story (although it features a lot of Batman-baddies), but easily one of the great villain-centered storylines that we've come to expect from Secret Six. Vic handles herself well as the team proves entertainingly dysfunctional.